Drought in Box Elder County, UT: 7.3 years in 10 since 2000

7.3 years in 10

Box Elder County, UT: 19 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. More drought-prone than most US counties.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (13 wk), 2001 (30 wk), 2002 (42 wk), 2003 (52 wk), 2004 (52 wk), 2005 (14 wk), 2007 (40 wk), 2008 (25 wk), 2009 (16 wk), 2012 (24 wk), 2013 (53 wk), 2014 (52 wk), 2015 (52 wk), 2016 (17 wk), 2018 (48 wk), 2020 (33 wk), 2021 (52 wk), 2022 (52 wk) and 2025 (35 wk). Not a single drought week in 2006, 2010, 2011, 2017 and 2024.

Plan for drought as normal: shrink the lawn, go drip and natives

Drought is the normal state of things here. Most of the yard goes to natives and gravel on drip; any grass that stays is a small, tough patch.

If you are replacing turf, plant natives in fall so roots set before the Feb peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

Against the rest of UT

2nd most drought-prone of 29 UT counties; the UT middle is 6.2 in 10. Closest on the list: Tooele County (7.7 in 10) and San Juan County (6.9 in 10). Driest in UT: Tooele County (7.7 in 10). Least drought: Duchesne County (5.4 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Feb (62% of weeks), then Sep (60%) and Oct (60%). Least in May (38%). May to September averages 53%.

55 Jan
62 Feb
57 Mar
45 Apr
38 May
52 Jun
56 Jul
57 Aug
60 Sep
60 Oct
57 Nov
59 Dec

The worst year: 2003

2003: 52 weeks in drought, peaking at D4 exceptional. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 54.8% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 33.6% at D2, 12.3% at D3, 125 weeks with some of the county in D4. Longest unbroken spell: 198 weeks, Jul 17, 2012 to Apr 26, 2016.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 35 weeks. 2016-2025: 6 in 10, against 8.1 in 10 for 2000-2015, wetter lately. So far in 2026: 44 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.